How real horror can turn into a miracle...

[nonickatall]

I'm currently repairing my 85-year-old father's car. He drove to me for this; he lives 200 km away. The old man is still fit, plays tennis every day, and is mentally alert. He wanted to come in the morning and leave in the evening. But as always happens, a spare part didn't fit, the car was in disassembly, and now he desperately wanted to go home because he'd forgotten his medication.

So I decided to lend him my truck. I really hate doing this, but my father has never been in an accident and is mentally fit.

I explained the car to him, and he drove off. My car has been running perfectly for months, is well maintained, and has fresh oil.

So the truck should be fine for the 400 km. So my father drove off, and half an hour later my phone rang.

I figured if he calls half an hour later, there must be a problem. So I answered, and my father said to me: I don't want to worry you, but the oil pressure light came on. Also, there was something on the display that I didn't understand. My father doesn't speak English; it said "coolant temperature."

When he called me, he had pulled off the highway into a parking lot and turned off the engine. I thought that couldn't be it, maybe an electrical problem, and told him to turn the engine back on. The oil light came back on immediately, and I told him to check the oil pressure and the coolant temperature. He said the oil pressure was at zero and the coolant temperature was in the red zone.

I told him to turn the engine off immediately.

I had no idea what had happened, so I decided to pack some oil and water, along with the essential tools, and drive to his place. When I got to his place and opened the hood, I saw that the radiator hose at the top of the radiator had come off. Apparently, the clamp wasn't tight enough and had come off.

The coolant had disappeared, which of course explained the coolant temperature, but not the lack of oil pressure.

I tried to figure out what happened to the oil pressure and it seams clear to me that it had been running without coolant for too long and that the engine had finally given up.

So adding my experience with situations like this, it was clear the engine is finished...

But the show must go on...

So I first reattached the radiator hose and refilled the cooling system with water. I checked the oil level, which was fine, and started the engine. The engine ran as usual, the oil pressure was back up, and the coolant temperature quickly returned to its normal temperature. After the while running in idle and a short test drive, I decided to drive 60km back to my place. I drove my truck and my dad drove the other car. The truck runs perfectly and apparently sustained no damage. No loose of water, no noise, no steam in the exhaust,

In my opinion, the oil pressure problems could only have been caused by the engine overheating so much that the oil was so hot that the oil pressure dropped.

That the engine survived that, is an absolute miracle and convinces me again that this truck is one of the best cars ever built.

Such a German aluminum gadget with a super high-tech camshaft adjustment system and all the technic, build in to lower endurance, would have melted down just 3 km later without coolant, to a worthless block of scrap.

So GM was right with the slogan;

Chevrolet; like a rock...

I love my truck...

Thought the story is worth to share with you...

 

[89Suburban]

Yikes

 

[OR VietVet]

What type of clamp was on the upper radiator hose? Worm gear or spring clamp? Had it recently been removed? If had been removed, but not recently, how long ago and what kind of driving had you been doing with it during that time?

I would change that thermostat asap.

 

[OBSandaNNBS]

In my opinion, the oil pressure problems could only have been caused by the engine overheating so much that the oil was so hot that the oil pressure dropped.

That the engine survived that, is an absolute miracle and convinces me again that this truck is one of the best cars ever built.

I think you are right on. That oil's viscosity is now destroyed, you should change it IMMEDIATELY, if you haven't already.

Glad it (and you) are okay as of now.

 

[Doubeleive]

I'm currently repairing my 85-year-old father's car. He drove to me for this; he lives 200 km away. The old man is still fit, plays tennis every day, and is mentally alert. He wanted to come in the morning and leave in the evening. But as always happens, a spare part didn't fit, the car was in disassembly, and now he desperately wanted to go home because he'd forgotten his medication.

So I decided to lend him my truck. I really hate doing this, but my father has never been in an accident and is mentally fit.

I explained the car to him, and he drove off. My car has been running perfectly for months, is well maintained, and has fresh oil.

So the truck should be fine for the 400 km. So my father drove off, and half an hour later my phone rang.

I figured if he calls half an hour later, there must be a problem. So I answered, and my father said to me: I don't want to worry you, but the oil pressure light came on. Also, there was something on the display that I didn't understand. My father doesn't speak English; it said "coolant temperature."

When he called me, he had pulled off the highway into a parking lot and turned off the engine. I thought that couldn't be it, maybe an electrical problem, and told him to turn the engine back on. The oil light came back on immediately, and I told him to check the oil pressure and the coolant temperature. He said the oil pressure was at zero and the coolant temperature was in the red zone.

I told him to turn the engine off immediately.

I had no idea what had happened, so I decided to pack some oil and water, along with the essential tools, and drive to his place. When I got to his place and opened the hood, I saw that the radiator hose at the top of the radiator had come off. Apparently, the clamp wasn't tight enough and had come off.

The coolant had disappeared, which of course explained the coolant temperature, but not the lack of oil pressure.

I tried to figure out what happened to the oil pressure and it seams clear to me that it had been running without coolant for too long and that the engine had finally given up.

So adding my experience with situations like this, it was clear the engine is finished...

But the show must go on...

So I first reattached the radiator hose and refilled the cooling system with water. I checked the oil level, which was fine, and started the engine. The engine ran as usual, the oil pressure was back up, and the coolant temperature quickly returned to its normal temperature. After the while running in idle and a short test drive, I decided to drive 60km back to my place. I drove my truck and my dad drove the other car. The truck runs perfectly and apparently sustained no damage. No loose of water, no noise, no steam in the exhaust,

In my opinion, the oil pressure problems could only have been caused by the engine overheating so much that the oil was so hot that the oil pressure dropped.

That the engine survived that, is an absolute miracle and convinces me again that this truck is one of the best cars ever built.

Such a German aluminum gadget with a super high-tech camshaft adjustment system and all the technic, build in to lower endurance, would have melted down just 3 km later without coolant, to a worthless block of scrap.

So GM was right with the slogan;

Chevrolet; like a rock...

I love my truck...

Thought the story is worth to share with you...

ya, these engines can survive a overheat without any problems, but only a limited amount of times. If someone was ignorant of the problem and keeps driving it then that's it, done finito.....
repair it the first time and you will never know it ever happened.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I'm glad for you and your Dad that everything turned out alright.

 

[S33k3r]

Buy one of these, fix it up, and give it to your dad!

 

[nonickatall]

What type of clamp was on the upper radiator hose? Worm gear or spring clamp? Had it recently been removed? If had been removed, but not recently, how long ago and what kind of driving had you been doing with it during that time?

I would change that thermostat asap.

It was a worm Gear, was not removed since I bought the car...

 

[Tonyrodz]

It was a worm Gear, was not removed since I bought the car...

Those clamps are terrible--even though that's all I use. I like the constant pressure clamps that @OR VietVet always mentions. I actually need to get an assortment of various sizes of them. Glad everything turned out good, and your father had enough sense to shut it down immediately.

 

[OR VietVet]

It was a worm Gear, was not removed since I bought the car...

Those clamps are terrible--even though that's all I use. I like the constant pressure clamps that @OR VietVet always mentions. I actually need to get an assortment of various sizes of them. Glad everything turned out good, and your father had enough sense to shut it down immediately.

Over time, the worm gear clamps will loosen on their own.

 

[Mudsport96]

What weight oil do you use in the truck? In my Tahoe i run 5w30 and in my Silverado I run 10w40 in the summer and 10w30 in the winter.

 

[nonickatall]

Over time, the worm gear clamps will loosen on their own.

I haven't had any bad experiences with worm gear clamps, and I think they have one major advantage. You can individually adjust the clamping force, which is probably also their biggest disadvantage. Because you need a feel for it, I don't think they give either. What gives is the hose, where the rubber softens over time, especially when a hose like that comes into contact with oil. Of course, other clamps have an advantage here, as the clamping force remains constant due to spring pressure.

The spring clamps also have a major disadvantage: in tight engine compartments, where you often don't have enough space to attach pliers to open them, they are difficult to handle. There, you can position the worm gear clamp nicely, so you can reach it.

Both have advantages and disadvantages, as always in life. But I never checked this hose clamp; maybe it just wasn't mounted tightly enough.

It's crazy, I've been driving the car for over two years and have taken long vacation trips, driving 30,000 km in that time.

Then I give the car to my father one day, and this happens to him.

But in the end, it's an absolutely positive experience, because it showed me that I made the absolutely right decision to buy this car.

I'm often approached here in Germany and people say, "How can anyone buy a car like that? It's incredibly expensive and has excessive fuel consumption." Which is not true in my case, because I drive with LPG gas.

And I always tell people; it's the best car I've ever had. Firstly, nothing serious breaks, secondly, the spare parts are inexpensive, and thirdly, it's a vacation for a mechanic to tinker with the car, because you can get to everything and everything is properly built, unlike German cars, from 2005 onwards at the latest. They're so packed with technology and the focus was so heavily on fuel consumption that the engines are so sensitive that hardly any vehicle reaches 200,000 km, and even if they do, they always have extremely complex and expensive damage to engines and transmissions, which often turns the cars into total economic write-offs.

And here I saw it again: If you take care of the LS or LQ engine, regularly supply it with fresh oil, and don't drive around like an idiot, these engines are indestructible. And if they break, you can rebuild them; you can hone cylinders; you can install new pistons, which is usually not possible with German engines with aluminum blocks and that silicon coating in the cylinders.

A friend of mine drives a Porsche whose engine is worn out after 180,000 km; the silicon coating on the cylinder bores has gone through. This means you need a completely new engine block, which is exorbitantly expensive for Porsche, so this repair won't cost less than €12,000. With €12,000, I'm buying three rebuilt engines for the truck.

So, all in all, this event was positive and made me fall more in love with my truck.

What I also really appreciate is this community here, which is full of competent, helpful and friendly people.

You never read stupid comments like in many Mercedes or BMW forums, where you have a lot of people giving answers like: you just have to go to a Mercedes dealer; if you can't afford it, you shouldn't drive a Mercedes.

 

[nonickatall]

What weight oil do you use in the truck? In my Tahoe i run 5w30 and in my Silverado I run 10w40 in the summer and 10w30 in the winter.

I use 5w 30 but a high quality oil. And before each oil change I ad one liter diesel and flush the system.
I don't use different oil in the winter. We have not often very cold temperatures in Germany in the Winter...

 

[OBSandaNNBS]

You never read stupid comments like in many Mercedes or BMW forums, where you have a lot of people giving answers like: you just have to go to a Mercedes dealer; if you can't afford it, you shouldn't drive a Mercedes.

A) glad you have sense and B) this is the elitist attitude so many of us on this side of the pond despise and C) you were right earlier, Like A Rock!!

 

[OR VietVet]

"The spring clamps also have a major disadvantage: in tight engine compartments, where you often don't have enough space to attach pliers to open them, they are difficult to handle. There, you can position the worm gear clamp nicely, so you can reach it."

"And I always tell people; it's the best car I've ever had. Firstly, nothing serious breaks, secondly, the spare parts are inexpensive, and thirdly, it's a vacation for a mechanic to tinker with the car, because you can get to everything and everything is properly built"

You use whatever clamp you want to but in one breath you talk about "space problems" and then in the next breath, you say "you can get to everything".

 

[OR VietVet]

And yes, worm gear clamps can loosen on their own, over time. The part of the clamp with the little slots, where the screw rotates against, can stretch over time. Granted, the worm gear clamp is easier, but not always better in the long run.

 

[Mudsport96]

I have considered going to 1/2 wide industrial zip ties like outboards use on hoses. You want to take about vibration harmonics, my old v4 Evinrude at high idle for trolling will shake your teeth. And that is why OMC used zip ties, can't loosen if you're locked.
I even have the zip tie gun for tightening and cutting the tail flush.

 

[nonickatall]

You use whatever clamp you want to but in one breath you talk about "space problems" and then in the next breath, you say "you can get to everything".

View attachment 464039

View attachment 464040

View attachment 464041

Yes I know this tools and use them as well.

With cars, "were you have no Space" i am not talking about our Trucks...

I'm talking about German Cars like Volkswagen, they use these spring clamps where you need the first tool you have posted, but as well for this tool, you need space, because there are only two positions we're it fits.

But anyway... sure, a worm gear clamp can fail, but from 1000, I have probably mounted during my time as mechanic, I had probably 3 failed, and mostly I knew it while tightening.

This time I guess it was my fault not to check all of them when I bought the car...

I have considered going to 1/2 wide industrial zip ties like outboards use on hoses. You want to take about vibration harmonics, my old v4 Evinrude at high idle for trolling will shake your teeth. And that is why OMC used zip ties, can't loosen if you're locked.
I even have the zip tie gun for tightening and cutting the tail flush.

You are right in a very harsch environment with lot of vibration I would also use zip ties which I mostly use for steering boots or Drive shaft bellows....

 

[adventurenali92]

Glad you are able to help your dad out and that it all worked out for you!

After 10 years owning my 2006 Yukon XL Denali with my LQ4 6.0… I still cant believe how indestructible the thing has been for me. I travel like you do often and on long road trips a couple times a year. Just did 1300 miles round trip last month to rush back here to Southern California and it just rolled and rolled and rolled. Glad the rig is treating you well even across the pond!!